Landslide buries popular Utah trucker route

About 1.5 million cu. yd. of dirt, rock and debris slid down a steep ravine, destroying nearly a quarter-mile of state Route 14

About 1.5 million cu. yd. of dirt, rock and debris slid down a steep ravine, destroying nearly a quarter-mile of state Route 14.

The route is used by many truckers traveling through central Utah. The road will be closed for months, according to state highway officials.

Kevin Kitchen, a spokesman for the Utah Dept. of Transportation, said truckers use the highway that leads to Bryce Canyon and Canyon National Park because it’s the most direct route from Cedar City to U.S. 89.

The landslide was eight miles east of Cedar City. It was 1,700 ft. in length and left behind debris about a hundred feet deep, he said.

Approximately 12 miles of the highway will be closed for repairs. The cost of repairs was not immediately known, but Kitchen said a similar slide in the area during the 1990s cost nearly $4 million to repair.